KEMRI Research Integrity Committee hosts Integrity sensitization exercise

In a bid to enhance research integrity, the Institute’s Research Integrity Committee (IRC) held a two-day sensitization workshop in the Western Region Cluster to sensitize scientists on the importance of research integrity, and equip them with knowledge to avert potential research misconduct.

While officiating the opening of the training that commenced on 12th June, 2024, Prof. Richard Omore, who represented the Deputy Director Centre for Global Health Research (CGHR), Dr. Erick Muok, emphasized on the role of integrity in research not only in KEMRI, but also in other research entities.

“Integrity is very critical in any research undertaking, we cannot overly emphasis its role in KEMRI, as it not only enhances trust in the research process but also upholds confidence and credibility,” he elucidated.

Speaking during the training, the committee’s chairperson Prof. Elizabeth Bukusu , emphasized the significance of the workshop, stating “Our goal is to create a robust framework that supports ethical research practices and by educating our scientists, we not only protect the integrity of our work but also uphold the trust placed in us by the public and the global scientific community.”

In her presentation, Prof. Bukusi, highlighted the importance of mentorship and mentor training, further emphasizing that it is crucial to set out targets, goals and periodic meetings with mentors to assess progress in the
mentorship journey.

In his presentation, on publication practices and responsible authorship, Prof. Edwin Were, a reproductive health practitioner, and Senior Lecturer at Moi University, emphasized on the importance of acknowledging sources,
and originality of publications. “Data integrity is key in publishing, ensure that research findings are reported in an accurate and truthful manner, falsification and fabrication of research findings is very unethical,” he said.

The training conducted both in person and virtually sensitized the scientists on topics ranging from responsible
conduct of research, Scientific Integrity and evidencebased policy making, laws regulations, policies guidelines and procedures guiding research integrity and Legal issues on reporting research misconduct among others.

The interactive sessions which incorporated case study scenarios provided the scientists with knowledge to be able to evaluate real-life scenarios of research misconduct to understand the consequences and prevention strategies. for handling cases of research misconduct including reporting, investigation, resolution mechanisms, strategies for early detection and correction that are geared towards upholding research integrity, create awareness regarding policies, and procedures legislations, regulations and guidelines relating to research misconduct.